BBC Had to Blow Final Whistle on Gary Lineker

Some links may help generate a commission that supports The Addition.

I had vowed not to write another story about Gary Lineker, but here we are. As readers will know, the ex-footballer has been embroiled in rows about his social media postings on various world events, not least the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terror group Hamas.

This has all finally caught up with the former England striker. On Sunday, He will end his tenure hosting Match of the Day following a backlash after he shared a clip entitled ‘Zionism explained in less than two minutes’. That post included an emoji of a rat, playing on a foul antisemitic trope of Jews as vermin. Lineker says he didn’t notice the emoji, would never have shared the post if he had, and has apologised.

Given the catalogue of incidents, it was all too little, too late. Lineker announced on Monday he would be leaving the BBC entirely, instead of fronting its FA Cup and World Cup coverage as planned.

It’s worth noting that his company, Goalhanger Podcasts, still has a deal with the corporation. It means their shows, The Rest is Football (which Lineker hosts) and The Rest is History, are available on the BBC Sounds app. It remains to be seen what happens with this arrangement going forward. It’s also worth noting that this afternoon, The Telegraph broke the news that Lineker might even face criminal investigation for the post.

It is also somewhat ironic that someone who has they have always “stood up for minorities and humanitarian issues” employs Alastair Campbell, who helped Tony Blair lead Britain into the Iraq War, as a podcast host.

Gary Lineker Gets His BBC Goodbye

Having been increasingly horrified by some of the things he has said, I thought that I would be jubilant when I heard Lineker was leaving the BBC. The truth is, I was sad. He is a legend at Tottenham, the football team I support, where he scored 80 goals in 138 appearances across all competitions. Famously, two of these came against bitter rivals Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final. He also scored 48 goals in 80 appearances for England.

In short, he should be someone whom I love. It is upsetting to feel so offended, so disgusted, by someone like that.

However, Lineker could not stay at the BBC, never mind be its highest-paid presenter, bringing in over £1 million a year. He has flouted social media guidelines designed to accommodate him, pushing the boundaries week after week. He is lucky that, in a bid not to cause a fuss, the BBC let him front last week’s men’s FA Cup Final coverage and present his final Match of the Day. I’m not sure such leniency would have been shown to someone who had caused such hurt to any other minority group.

Anyway, Gary Lineker will be fine. His company continues to print money. But his time at the BBC should have come to an end long ago.